10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link up.

1. Amazing sales

2. Outshine Fruit Popsicles

3. My boys

4. New books

5. Encouraging words

6. Chilly Cow Chocolate Brownie Batter Ice Cream

7. Being almost done with school shopping

8. Listening to old songs

9. Mango Dragonfruit Refresher from Starbucks

10. Cupcakes

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...
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Currently List

Happy Wednesday! It's been a while since I posted a Currently List so I thought today would be a good day to share a list. Usually, I use a Currently List card, but I'm switching it up this time. Instead of filling out a card, I decided to use my Currently List stamp set and make my own list in my travelers notebook.

Watching: I am so happy that The Bold Type is finally back. I was starting to wonder if it would ever come back or if it was going to get cancelled. The second season started last week and the first episode for the season was amazing.

Reading: I'm still reading Am I There Yet by Mari Andrew and it is such a great book. I love the essays and the drawings.

Listening: I've been listening to a bunch of music, but I've been listening to The 1975 a lot.

Making: I started working in a new travelers notebook and am currently using it to document my summer. So far it's going great. I made a bucket list, currently list, and documented my day at a farmers market. I have also been journaling in my Moleskine sketchbook.

Feeling: I have been feeling so many emotions. I'm actually going to work on a post about the emotions that I have been feeling and I'm a bit nervous to share it.

Loving: I have been loving raspberry lemonade. It's so good. It might be even better than blackberry lemonade.

Planning: I really want to share some personal essays and stories. I think July may be the month that I actually do this. As I said before, I plan to write a post about the emotions that I have been feeling and it may just be the first personal essay that I have shared in a very long time.

*Below are some close ups of my currently list in my travelers notebook.*

What are you currently up to?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

2018 Summer Bucket List

It's officially Summer! Although it's felt like summer for the past few weeks, it's so exciting that the season has officially changed. Every year I make a Summer Bucket List and just like last year, I decided to share mine with you all.

• Have a picnic

• Make lemonade

• Make popsicles

• Have a BBQ

• Go to the Silver Comet Trail

• Read at least 5 books

• Have a water balloon fight

• Go to a new park

• Go to a few Farmers Markets

• Go to an ice cream shop

• Watch a sunset and a sunrise

• Watch a thunderstorm

• Watch a new (or new-to-me) movie

• Try a few new recipes

• Make s'mores

What is on your Summer bucket list?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link up.

1. Nutella and Waffles

2. Lemonade

3. Going to the Farmers Market

4. Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink

5. Thunderstorms

6. Am I There Yet by Mari Andrew

7. School shopping (yes I know it's a bit early, but there were some amazing deals!)

8. It's finally Summer

9. Finding new recipes to try

10. Lazy afternoons

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...
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Raphael - 2 Months

My goodness...another month has passed by. Little man is now 10 weeks old so I thought it was time to give you all an update on how he is doing.

Size: Raphael is 8 lbs 4.5 oz and I'm so excited that he is gaining weight. He's now wearing size 0-3 clothes and is in size 1 diapers!

Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is going well. He is eating every 2-3 hours, but I do think that he might be going through a growth spurt.

I'm also still pumping milk since he has to take one bottle of fortified breastmilk. I've also been pumping to store some milk for the future.

Sleep: We don't really have a schedule, but he is sleeping so much better at night. He wakes up maybe 2-3 times a night.

Loves: He loves bath time and he still loves everything else from month 1.

Dislikes: He hates being cold, being taken out of the bath, and hates getting his nose suctioned.

*I think he also likes, but dislikes his pacifier as well as tummy time.*

Places He's Been: Target, Walmart, Publix, and Babies R Us.

Things I Want to Remember:

• He is smiling so much!

• He is cooing a lot.

• Michael and Gabriel love helping me with their little brother. My boys are so sweet. 

• He is starting to become more alert.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link up.

1. Getting more sleep

2. Ice Cream

3. This video of a father coming to his daughter's rescue

4. Warm weather

5. Reading blogs and magazines

6. Starting a new book

7. My boys

8. Running errands by myself

9. Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Blueberry juice

10. Waffles and Nutella

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...
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What I Read in May

I didn't accomplish my reading goal for April and I was not sure if I'd reach my goal for May, but I am so happy to say that I did. I finished one book this month, read a couple of magazines, and I read a bunch of blog posts. There were so many amazing blog posts that I read and a few of them really made me think about a lot of things.

Must Read

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

I was so excited when I found out that Elizabeth Acevedo released her new book. This is a verse novel and the poems in the book are really good. The Poet X is about a girl named Xiomara Batista from Harlem. She is the daughter of two old school and strict parents. Xiomara keeps a journal and is invited to join her school's slam poetry club. The story was great and I loved following Xiomara's journey of finding her voice. One of my favorite things about the book is how Elizabeth Acevedo mixed languages (Spanish and English) and culture (Dominican and American culture) in the story.

Light Reading

Cosmopolitan - June 2018 issue

I loved reading Cosmo's interview of Kesha. I also loved the book recommendations.

Hello Giggles

Hello Giggles released their first magazine and I finally found it at Barnes and Noble. It was a really quick read and there were not that many pages, but there was a lot of interesting articles. The essay that stood out to me was "The Day I Found Out I Wasn't White". This was a great essay on race and identity.

Blog Posts I Loved

Learning for learning's sake by Austin Kleon.

My Day Arted by Julia Cusworth

The Best Moms Are Selfish by Ashley (Atlanta Area Moms Blog)

Hey Moms, Let's Stop the Shaming by Genevieve Padalecki

The London Notes: Big Magic by Brittany (Letters to Rayelle)

What did you read in May?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

May Designs Newborn Notes Journal

Happy Wednesday! A few weeks ago, I briefly mentioned that I received a May Designs Newborn Notes Journal and promised that I would post a full review. Today, I am going to share that review.

I've said it before and I will say it again- I am a huge fan of May Designs. I was so excited when I found out that they have a Newborn Notes Journal as well as a Pregnancy Journal.  This journal is amazing and I love that you can customize the cover.

The Newborn Notes Journal has a section where you can put your baby's first footprints as well as his or her height, weight, and date of birth. There is also a section where you can put information about the pediatrician and check-ups. There are several different prompts in the journal such as Hospital Memories, Baby's Homecoming, and Birth Story.

The journal contains many pages to keep track of a newborn's feeding schedule, wet/dirty diapers, and sleep schedule. Keeping track of a baby's feeding schedule is so important. When I was in the hospital, I received a few sheets of feeding and pumping logs to keep track of my son's feedings. However, I wanted a book where I could keep track of all this information as well as have a place to list any concerns or questions that I may have for his doctor. I think having this journal makes it so much easier to track all of the information and it's so much more organized. You don't have to worry about losing papers and the journal is so cute.

Check out the images below for a look at the prompts and feeding logs.

This journal has been incredibly useful. I have been taking this journal with me to Raphael's doctor appointments. Whenever his pediatrician asks about his feeding schedule, amounts of wet/dirty diapers, and sleep schedule, I just show her the journal. There's so much to keep track of when you have a newborn and I'm all for products that makes things easy. And May Designs has definitely made things just a bit easier with this journal.

I highly recommend the Newborn Notes Journal from May Designs. You can check out all of their products here.

Have you used a journal to keep track of your baby's feeding schedule? 

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Disclaimer: I received the May Designs Newborn Notes Journal complimentary for review, but all opinions are my own.
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June Goals

Happy June! It's time to reflect on the previous month, look at my goals from the previous month, and set some new goals. May was such a busy and exciting month. We celebrated Michael's 8th birthday! I still can't believe that I have an 8 year old. We also celebrated Mother's Day. We went to several end of the school year events and celebrations. Now we are excited for summer vacation.

Recap of May Goals

• Read 1 book: I finally finished reading The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. This was such a great book and I highly recommend it.

• Work on meal plan: This was both a fail and a success. I didn't really make a meal plan, but I'm glad that we haven't had a lot of take out. 

• Work on my 100 Day Project: I'm so behind on my 100 Day Project. I'm debating whether to start the challenge over or continue from where I left off. 

• Share more personal stories and/or essays on the blog: Unfortunately, I did not share any personal stories or essays. I decided to keep this goal for June. I recently joined H & L Writes, a monthly membership that promotes writers and writing. I'm hoping that the monthly themes and prompts will inspire me to write some essays and stories.

• Make at least 1 scrapbook/craft project: I made two scrapbook layouts this month. 

June Goals

• Read 1 book

• Share more personal stories and/or essays on the blog

• Start a new workout plan

• Make at least 2 scrapbook or craft projects

• Continue to work on my meal plan

What are your goals for June?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Lauren Mancke on Unsplash

Summer Lovin' Q & A

Today I'm linking up with The Blended Blog for TBB Asks. TBB Asks is a monthly questionnaire and link up series.

1. Walk or Bike Ride? Walk...I think I may have forgotten how to ride a bike. Is that even possible?

2. Favorite Picnic Food? Chicken Tender Sub

3. Pool or Lake? Pool

4. Favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate chip cookie dough

5. Ice Cream Cone or in a Dish? Ice Cream Cone...preferably with soft serve ice cream

6. Flip Flops or Slides? Flip flops, but I still wear sneakers during summer.

7. Jean Shorts or Jean Capris? Shorts

8. Favorite Summer Fruit? Mango and Quenepas

9. Corn on the Cob or Cut Off the Cob? Corn on the Cob

10. Favorite summertime song? This is a tough one. I have a lot of favorite summertime songs. So I'll just list a few.

• Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey

• All Good Things (Come to an End) by Nelly Furtado

• Beautiful Now by Zedd feat. Jon Bellion

• Sit Next to Me by Foster the People

• Glad You Came by The Wanted

11. Favorite summertime activity? Stargazing

12. Favorite Berry? Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry or Blackberry? Strawberry

13. Bikini's, tankini's, or one pieces? One pieces or a bikini with a cover up

14. Dresses or skirts? Dresses

15. One word to describe Summer? Blazing

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...
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